Beginning May 1, an executive order by Gov. Greg Abbott allowing certain businesses to open at 25% capacity will go into effect. Although restaurants can choose to open their dining rooms, many owners and managers have decided to wait until a future date and will continue to offer alternative services.

At least 33 restaurants in Southwest Austin have taken to social media or other outlets to spread information about their current plans over the past week, with 13 announcing they will open dine-in services and 20 deciding to wait.

The map above shows which restaurants will and will not open to dining May 1. Community Impact Newspaper will continue to update the map as more information becomes available. To add your restaurant to the list, please email us at [email protected] to get in touch with our newsroom.

In a conversation with Community Impact Newspaper, Doc’s Backyard owner Charles Milligan said he was excited to reopen the restaurants dining room and patio May 1, but that concerns remain about safety and staffing. Other businesses, such as Carve American Grille, announced they were planning to open but in a limited capacity or to reservations only.

On Instagram, Alice's Restaurant at Treaty Oak Distilling announced that it, too, is planning to open this weekend.












































We are doing what we can to support the community this weekend, we will be opening our outdoor seating area to customers, Friday- Sunday 12-9 pm. Please know we will go above and beyond on all guidelines to keep our family (customers and employees alike) safe with several strategic changes. We will NOT be opening our indoor restaurant facility at Alice's, we will ONLY be offering outdoor seating. In keeping with the CDC and State of Texas recommendations of 25% maximum capacity, we will make good use of our 28 acre property and Treaty Oak Sanitizer. Check out our website link in bio for more details on guidelines before arrival, both on our measures and our respectful expectations of our customers.



A post shared by Alice's Restaurant (@alices_restauranttx) on Apr 30, 2020 at 11:33am PDT




Other businesses, including District Kitchen + Cocktails, felt they were not ready to reopen and the owners would like to "take it a bit slower" than the govener's plan.























Many of you have inquired about what we will do since the governor made the announcement that restaurants can open their dinning rooms on May 1st at 25% capacity. We appreciate the slow recovery plan but we would like to take it a little slower. As we have said before the safety of our team and our community comes first and we take that responsibility very seriously. Which is why we have decided to wait to open our dinning room for now. We feel it’s a little too early and too much is unknown. We will continue to serve you through contactless curbside pickup and deliveries. We are grateful for your patience and all the support and love you continue to give us. We miss serving each and every one of you, but we look forward to having you back in our dinning room enjoying a meal with friends and loved ones as we move closer to getting past all this together as a community. Just have to give it a little bit longer. “Our patience will achieve more than our force.” Edmund Burke . . . . #atx #eateraustin #do512 #southaustin



A post shared by District Kitchen+Cocktails (@district_kitchen) on Apr 29, 2020 at 8:12am PDT




Galaxy Cafe, which has been closed since mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic, will not reopen its dining rooms May 1. However, the restaurant chain announced it will begin offering curbside services May 4 as it works back to opening fully.